Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Smooth power, good t u rni ng ab ilities, powerful brakes, reliability and rider comfort are the CR 's best features. ~ uspens ion needs some work. The Showa shock is mediocre at best - the back end likes to kick over the small, sharp bumps but handles the big stuff much better. 14 enduro riders can compete seriously in most open-country enduros . Versatile best describes the C R's powerpl a n t. Back on the track, ho leshots won 't happen very often, but thanks to smooth clutch action, good throttle response and low end, they wi ll happen. The shorter the start straight, though, the better the chance. Lik e we mentioned ear lier. th e CR has to be shi fted co ns ta nt ly: lu ckily, it has a n excelle nt transm ission . 1\1 issed shi fts a re very ra re, a nd when one did occ ur, it was usu al lv th e fau lt of the rider - not th e gea rbo x. One q u ick ta p o n th e shiftlever a lways brou g h t it back into the co rrect gear. We were extre mely happy with th e clutch . Traditionall y, CRs have very light-pull clutches, and the 1985 CR is no exception. One finger ca n easi ly handle the clutch . When exiting turns as fast as possible, we like to sl ip th e clutch a nd did so quite o ften - we never had a ny prob lems with it becoming mushy o r harder to engage, and it never dr agged when ho t. We were not very pleased wi th the rear suspens ion . In a fast straight infested with whoops and bumps, it kicks, swaps and bounces all over the track. The engine and rear sus pen- sion work against each other instead of wo rking in harmon y, th e motor seeming at too high rpm, adding to the rear end hopping. So , it has to be clicked up to a higher gear prematurel y. Then - even th ough the Honda has decent low end - it doesn't have enough punch on the bottom to bail the back end out of trouble. One wa y to co m pensa te is to rid e th e Honda wi th th e rider 's weigh t as far ba ck as possible to keep th e fron t end gl iding over the tops of th e bumps. This helps but can be tiring to the arms. One th ing th e rear sus pension doe s well is land from huge jumps. It absorbs th e im pa ct well for a 155-lb. rider. In th e air. th e CR doesn 't do unwanted tr icks a nd th e front end doesn 't h ave th e tenden cy to float upwards - it is very sta ble. This comes in handy when doublejumping, because on th e H onda . you want to be sure to clear the second jump. If the rear wheel catches th e lip of th e seco nd jump, th e H onda will kick the rear up radi ca lly. The forks work excep tio na ll y well and are about 100% bett er th an th e shock. There' s no p roblem s sla mming th e front wheel into nasty, squared -off bumps. On a few occa sions we hit a bump so hard we thought for sure we 'd end up do ing a " Flyin g-W" ove r th e bar s - but th e fork s soa ked up th e jolts smoothly. The o n ly problem we ever had with th e front en d, was th at it would shak e a t high speed over sma ll bumps. It shook enough to for ce the rider to regroup a n d h old o n tighter to th e handlebars. Like the rear s h o ck , th e fork absorbed landings off large jumps with ease. We were never concerned wit h bottoming, because it rarely happened. When it did, though , it wo uldn 't rattle th e rider's eyes out of his sock ets. Ove rall ha ndling is first rate. It likes using berms best in the turns, but when there isn't a berm around, it can carve a quick line a nywhere. When a turn is wide and gradual, the Honda won't try to force its wa y to the outside - it goes where it is pointed. Much credit goes to the tires: they stick well to dry surfaces when new . but they wear o u t very quickly a nd shoul d be repl aced. Both brakes, front a nd rear, are excellent. The front disc is very strong and smoo th , while th e rear brake get s th e job done ni cely without any ten- dency to lock up. Both ha ve good feel. The CR seems mor e sui ted for su percross trac ks than ou tdoor motocross. We had th e cha nce to ta ke the Honda for a few laps on th e same supercros s tra ck the pros used for the season opener in San Diego. Ca lifornia. The track was very rough , technica l and demanding, but the Honda took a ll the stu tter bu m ps, double jumps and sharp turns in stride, tha nks to the decent low end , new fram e geo metry , and th e sus pe nsion's a bility to absorb landin gs off big j umps. Detailin g on the Honda is sano: plasti c is stro ng , smooth and shiny, the side panels don 't fall off even if the bolt backs out during a race, the red paint o n the fra me doesn't chip or fade and the gas cap is easy to get o n and off. The latest Honda CR250 may lose its supremacy in the 250cc class this year. On supercross-type tracks, it feels more at home and will be a tough competitor. But for high-speed outdoor motocross , the Honda is no longer the clas s of the class. • Honda CR250R Eng ine type • • .•... • Uquid-c ooled, two-streke, single Bore x stroke • • • . • • • • • 66 x 72mm D isplacemant ••• • ••• • ••• • •• 246cc Compression ratio • • •• . . . .• • . 8 .6 :1 Carburetion . . 3 6 m m ova l-bore Keihin Horsepo w er . • • •• • •••• • • • • 44 8HP Igniti on • • ••.• • .. .• ••.•.••• C .D .1. Lubrication • . •• • • • • • • • • • •• Pre-mix Gee r r.tiol Primary • •'• • • • • • • • • • • • • •• .• 3.000 Final ...•••.••. •••. •.. .• •• 3.642 5th . . . . .••••• . • • •. • • • . • • 0 .833 4 th • .• •.• • • •• . ••. . .•• . . . 1 .000 3rd 1 .2 10 2nd •. . . .. . ... . . . .. . . . . . 1.470 1st 1.800 Frame • • •• • • Single downtube. sem i credle Reke • • • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • • • • • 27.3 ° Tra il •• •• ••. •• • • ••• • • • • . • • . 4.4 in . Fro nt suspensio n • • • Teles copic f ork Fork tube diameter . • . •. •. •• 43mm Front wheel travel • • • . • . • • • • 12 in . Rear suspensio n ••••• Single shock. awing.rm Rear w heel travel • . • • •• • • • • 12 .6 in. Fro nt brakes ••• • • • •• •• •• • •• • Drum Rear brakes •• • •• • • •• •• •••• •• D isc Front wheel • . • • .• ••• • • •••• 21 in . Reer wheel. • .. . . .. • . . .. . . • 18 in. Front t ire . • • • • • • • • • • ••• •• 3 .00-21 Brldgstone M23 Rear tire 5 .10-18 8ridgstonge M22 Dry weight 212.8 Ibs. Wheelbase ••••••.•• ••• •• • 58.3 in . 1.9 gal . Fuel capacity Ground clearence •• •• •••• • 1 3. 4 in . Seat he ig ht 37.8 In . Color Red Retail price $2498

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